ACT VEnterGower.GOWER.Marina thus the brothel ’scapes, and chancesInto an honest house, our story says.She sings like one immortal, and she dancesAs goddess-like to her admired lays;Deep clerks she dumbs; and with her nee’le composesNature’s own shape, of bud, bird, branch, or berry,That even her art sisters the natural roses;Her inkle, silk, twin with the rubied cherry:That pupils lacks she none of noble race,Who pour their bounty on her; and her gainShe gives the cursed bawd. Here we her place;And to her father turn our thoughts again,Where we left him, on the sea. We there him lost;Whence, driven before the winds, he is arrivedHere where his daughter dwells; and on this coastSuppose him now at anchor. The city strivedGod Neptune’s annual feast to keep: from whenceLysimachus our Tyrian ship espies,His banners sable, trimm’d with rich expense;And to him in his barge with fervour hies.In your supposing once more put your sightOf heavy Pericles; think this his bark:Where what is done in action, more, if might,Shall be discover’d; please you, sit and hark.[Exit.]SCENE I. On board Pericles’ ship, off Mytilene. A close pavilion on deck, with a curtain before it; Pericles within it, reclined on a couch. A barge lying beside the Tyrian vessel.Enter twoSailors,one belonging to the Tyrian vessel, the other to the barge; to themHelicanus.TYRIAN SAILOR.[To the Sailor of Mytilene.]Where is lord Helicanus? He can resolve you.O, here he is.Sir, there’s a barge put off from Mytilene,And in it is Lysimachus the governor,Who craves to come aboard. What is your will?HELICANUS.That he have his. Call up some gentlemen.TYRIAN SAILOR.Ho, gentlemen! my lord calls.Enter two or threeGentlemen.FIRST GENTLEMAN.Doth your lordship call?HELICANUS.Gentlemen, there is some of worth would come aboard;I pray ye, greet them fairly.[TheGentlemenand the twoSailorsdescend and go on board the barge.]Enter, from thence,LysimachusandLords;with theGentlemenand the twoSailors.TYRIAN SAILOR.Sir,This is the man that can, in aught you would,Resolve you.LYSIMACHUS.Hail, reverend sir! the gods preserve you!HELICANUS.And you, sir, to outlive the age I am,And die as I would do.LYSIMACHUS.You wish me well.Being on shore, honouring of Neptune’s triumphs,Seeing this goodly vessel ride before us,I made to it, to know of whence you are.HELICANUS.First, what is your place?LYSIMACHUS.I am the governor of this place you lie before.HELICANUS.Sir, our vessel is of Tyre, in it the king;A man who for this three months hath not spokenTo anyone, nor taken sustenanceBut to prorogue his grief.LYSIMACHUS.Upon what ground is his distemperature?HELICANUS.’Twould be too tedious to repeat;But the main grief springs from the lossOf a beloved daughter and a wife.LYSIMACHUS.May we not see him?HELICANUS.You may;But bootless is your sight: he will not speakTo any.LYSIMACHUS.Yet let me obtain my wish.HELICANUS.Behold him.[Pericles discovered.]This was a goodly person.Till the disaster that, one mortal night,Drove him to this.LYSIMACHUS.Sir king, all hail! The gods preserve you!Hail, royal sir!HELICANUS.It is in vain; he will not speak to you.FIRST LORD.Sir, we have a maid in Mytilene, I durst wager,Would win some words of him.LYSIMACHUS.’Tis well bethought.She questionless with her sweet harmonyAnd other chosen attractions, would allure,And make a battery through his deafen’d parts,Which now are midway stopp’d:She is all happy as the fairest of all,And, with her fellow maids, is now uponThe leafy shelter that abuts againstThe island’s side.[Whispers aLordwho goes off in the barge of Lysimachus.]HELICANUS.Sure, all’s effectless; yet nothing we’ll omitThat bears recovery’s name. But, since your kindnessWe have stretch’d thus far, let us beseech youThat for our gold we may provision have,Wherein we are not destitute for want,But weary for the staleness.LYSIMACHUS.O, sir, a courtesyWhich if we should deny, the most just godsFor every graff would send a caterpillar,And so inflict our province. Yet once moreLet me entreat to know at large the causeOf your king’s sorrow.HELICANUS.Sit, sir, I will recount it to you:But, see, I am prevented.Re-enter from the barge,LordwithMarinaand a young Lady.LYSIMACHUS.O, here is the lady that I sent for. Welcome, fair one!Is’t not a goodly presence?HELICANUS.She’s a gallant lady.LYSIMACHUS.She’s such a one, that, were I well assuredCame of a gentle kind and noble stock,I’d wish no better choice, and think me rarely wed.Fair one, all goodness that consists in bountyExpect even here, where is a kingly patient:If that thy prosperous and artificial featCan draw him but to answer thee in aught,Thy sacred physic shall receive such payAs thy desires can wish.MARINA.Sir, I will useMy utmost skill in his recovery, providedThat none but I and my companion maidBe suffer’d to come near him.LYSIMACHUS.Come, let us leave her,And the gods make her prosperous![Marinasings.]LYSIMACHUS.Mark’d he your music?MARINA.No, nor look’d on us.LYSIMACHUS.See, she will speak to him.MARINA.Hail, sir! My lord, lend ear.PERICLES.Hum, ha!MARINA.I am a maid,My lord, that ne’er before invited eyes,But have been gazed on like a comet: she speaks,My lord, that, may be, hath endured a griefMight equal yours, if both were justly weigh’d.Though wayward Fortune did malign my state,My derivation was from ancestorsWho stood equivalent with mighty kings:But time hath rooted out my parentage,And to the world and awkward casualtiesBound me in servitude.[Aside.] I will desist;But there is something glows upon my cheek,And whispers in mine ear ‘Go not till he speak.’PERICLES.My fortunes—parentage—good parentage—To equal mine!—was it not thus? what say you?MARINA.I said, my lord, if you did know my parentage,You would not do me violence.PERICLES.I do think so. Pray you, turn your eyes upon me.You are like something that—what country-woman?Here of these shores?MARINA.No, nor of any shores:Yet I was mortally brought forth, and amNo other than I appear.PERICLES.I am great with woe, and shall deliver weeping.My dearest wife was like this maid, and such a oneMy daughter might have been: my queen’s square brows;Her stature to an inch; as wand-like straight;As silver-voiced; her eyes as jewel-likeAnd cased as richly; in pace another Juno;Who starves the ears she feeds, and makes them hungry,The more she gives them speech. Where do you live?MARINA.Where I am but a stranger: from the deckYou may discern the place.PERICLES.Where were you bred?And how achieved you these endowments, whichYou make more rich to owe?MARINA.If I should tell my history, it would seemLike lies disdain’d in the reporting.PERICLES.Prithee, speak:Falseness cannot come from thee; for thou look’stModest as Justice, and thou seem’st a palaceFor the crown’d Truth to dwell in: I will believe thee,And make my senses credit thy relationTo points that seem impossible; for thou look’stLike one I loved indeed. What were thy friends?Didst thou not say, when I did push thee back—Which was when I perceived thee—that thou cam’stFrom good descending?MARINA.So indeed I did.PERICLES.Report thy parentage. I think thou said’stThou hadst been toss’d from wrong to injury,And that thou thought’st thy griefs might equal mine,If both were open’d.MARINA.Some such thing,I said, and said no more but what my thoughtsDid warrant me was likely.PERICLES.Tell thy story;If thine consider’d prove the thousand partOf my endurance, thou art a man, and IHave suffer’d like a girl: yet thou dost lookLike Patience gazing on kings’ graves, and smilingExtremity out of act. What were thy friends?How lost thou them? Thy name, my most kind virgin?Recount, I do beseech thee: come, sit by me.MARINA.My name is Marina.PERICLES.O, I am mock’d,And thou by some incensed god sent hitherTo make the world to laugh at me.MARINA.Patience, good sir,Or here I’ll cease.PERICLES.Nay, I’ll be patient.Thou little know’st how thou dost startle me,To call thyself Marina.MARINA.The nameWas given me by one that had some power,My father, and a king.PERICLES.How! a king’s daughter?And call’d Marina?MARINA.You said you would believe me;But, not to be a troubler of your peace,I will end here.PERICLES.But are you flesh and blood?Have you a working pulse? and are no fairy?Motion! Well; speak on. Where were you born?And wherefore call’d Marina?MARINA.Call’d MarinaFor I was born at sea.PERICLES.At sea! What mother?MARINA.My mother was the daughter of a king;Who died the minute I was born,As my good nurse Lychorida hath oftDeliver’d weeping.PERICLES.O, stop there a little! [Aside.] This is the rarest dream that e’er dull sleepDid mock sad fools withal: this cannot be:My daughter, buried. Well, where were you bred?I’ll hear you more, to the bottom of your story,And never interrupt you.MARINA.You scorn: believe me, ’twere best I did give o’er.PERICLES.I will believe you by the syllableOf what you shall deliver. Yet, give me leave:How came you in these parts? Where were you bred?MARINA.The king my father did in Tarsus leave me;Till cruel Cleon, with his wicked wife,Did seek to murder me: and having woo’dA villain to attempt it, who having drawn to do’t,A crew of pirates came and rescued me;Brought me to Mytilene. But, good sir.Whither will you have me? Why do you weep? It may be,You think me an impostor: no, good faith;I am the daughter to King Pericles,If good King Pericles be.PERICLES.Ho, Helicanus!EnterHelicanusandLysimachus.HELICANUS.Calls my lord?PERICLES.Thou art a grave and noble counsellor,Most wise in general: tell me, if thou canst,What this maid is, or what is like to be,That thus hath made me weep.HELICANUS.I know not,But here is the regent, sir, of MytileneSpeaks nobly of her.LYSIMACHUS.She would never tellHer parentage; being demanded that,She would sit still and weep.PERICLES.O Helicanus, strike me, honour’d sir;Give me a gash, put me to present pain;Lest this great sea of joys rushing upon meO’erbear the shores of my mortality,And drown me with their sweetness.[To Marina] O, come hither,Thou that beget’st him that did thee beget;Thou that wast born at sea, buried at Tarsus,And found at sea again! O Helicanus,Down on thy knees, thank the holy gods as loudAs thunder threatens us: this is Marina.What was thy mother’s name? tell me but that,For truth can never be confirm’d enough,Though doubts did ever sleep.MARINA.First, sir, I pray, what is your title?PERICLES.I am Pericles of Tyre: but tell me nowMy drown’d queen’s name, as in the rest you saidThou hast been godlike perfect,The heir of kingdoms and another lifeTo Pericles thy father.MARINA.Is it no more to be your daughter thanTo say my mother’s name was Thaisa?Thaisa was my mother, who did endThe minute I began.PERICLES.Now, blessing on thee! rise; thou art my child.Give me fresh garments. Mine own, Helicanus;She is not dead at Tarsus, as she should have been,By savage Cleon: she shall tell thee all;When thou shalt kneel, and justify in knowledgeShe is thy very princess. Who is this?HELICANUS.Sir, ’tis the governor of Mytilene,Who, hearing of your melancholy state,Did come to see you.PERICLES.I embrace you.Give me my robes. I am wild in my beholding.O heavens bless my girl! But, hark, what music?Tell Helicanus, my Marina, tell himO’er, point by point, for yet he seems to doubt,How sure you are my daughter. But, what music?HELICANUS.My lord, I hear none.PERICLES.None!The music of the spheres! List, my Marina.LYSIMACHUS.It is not good to cross him; give him way.PERICLES.Rarest sounds! Do ye not hear?LYSIMACHUS.Music, my lord? I hear.[Music.]PERICLES.Most heavenly music!It nips me unto listening, and thick slumberHangs upon mine eyes: let me rest.[Sleeps.]LYSIMACHUS.A pillow for his head:So, leave him all. Well, my companion friends,If this but answer to my just belief,I’ll well remember you.[Exeunt all butPericles.]Dianaappears to Pericles as in a vision.DIANA.My temple stands in Ephesus: hie thee thither,And do upon mine altar sacrifice.There, when my maiden priests are met together,Before the people all,Reveal how thou at sea didst lose thy wife:To mourn thy crosses, with thy daughter’s, callAnd give them repetition to the life.Or perform my bidding, or thou livest in woe:Do it, and happy; by my silver bow!Awake and tell thy dream.[Disappears.]PERICLES.Celestial Dian, goddess argentine,I will obey thee. Helicanus!Re-enterHelicanus, LysimachusandMarina.HELICANUS.Sir?PERICLES.My purpose was for Tarsus, there to strikeThe inhospitable Cleon; but I amFor other service first: toward EphesusTurn our blown sails; eftsoons I’ll tell thee why.[To Lysimachus.] Shall we refresh us, sir, upon your shore,And give you gold for such provisionAs our intents will need?LYSIMACHUS.Sir, with all my heart,And when you come ashore I have another suit.PERICLES.You shall prevail, were it to woo my daughter;For it seems you have been noble towards her.LYSIMACHUS.Sir, lend me your arm.PERICLES.Come, my Marina.[Exeunt.]SCENE II.EnterGowerbefore the temple of Diana at Ephesus.GOWER.Now our sands are almost run;More a little, and then dumb.This, my last boon, give me,For such kindness must relieve me,That you aptly will supposeWhat pageantry, what feats, what shows,What minstrelsy, and pretty din,The regent made in MytileneTo greet the king. So he thrived,That he is promised to be wivedTo fair Marina; but in no wiseTill he had done his sacrifice,As Dian bade: whereto being bound,The interim, pray you, all confound.In feather’d briefness sails are fill’d,And wishes fall out as they’re will’d.At Ephesus, the temple see,Our king and all his company.That he can hither come so soon,Is by your fancy’s thankful doom.[Exit.]SCENE III. The temple of Diana at Ephesus; Thaisa standing near the altar, as high priestess; a number of Virgins on each side; Cerimon and other inhabitants of Ephesus attending.EnterPericleswith his train;Lysimachus, Helicanus, Marinaand aLady.PERICLES.Hail, Dian! to perform thy just command,I here confess myself the King of Tyre;Who, frighted from my country, did wedAt Pentapolis the fair Thaisa.At sea in childbed died she, but brought forthA maid child call’d Marina; whom, O goddess,Wears yet thy silver livery. She at TarsusWas nursed with Cleon; who at fourteen yearsHe sought to murder: but her better starsBrought her to Mytilene; ’gainst whose shoreRiding, her fortunes brought the maid aboard us,Where by her own most clear remembrance, sheMade known herself my daughter.THAISA.Voice and favour!You are, you are—O royal Pericles![Faints.]PERICLES.What means the nun? She dies! help, gentlemen!CERIMON.Noble sir,If you have told Diana’s altar true,This is your wife.PERICLES.Reverend appearer, no;I threw her overboard with these very arms.CERIMON.Upon this coast, I warrant you.PERICLES.’Tis most certain.CERIMON.Look to the lady; O, she’s but o’er-joy’d.Early in blustering morn this lady wasThrown upon this shore. I oped the coffin,Found there rich jewels; recover’d her, and placed herHere in Diana’s temple.PERICLES.May we see them?CERIMON.Great sir, they shall be brought you to my house,Whither I invite you. Look, Thaisa isRecovered.THAISA.O, let me look!If he be none of mine, my sanctityWill to my sense bend no licentious ear,But curb it, spite of seeing. O, my lord,Are you not Pericles? Like him you spake,Like him you are: did you not name a tempest,A birth, and death?PERICLES.The voice of dead Thaisa!THAISA.That Thaisa am I, supposed deadAnd drown’d.PERICLES.Immortal Dian!THAISA.Now I know you better,When we with tears parted Pentapolis,The king my father gave you such a ring.[Shows a ring.]PERICLES.This, this: no more, you gods! your present kindnessMakes my past miseries sports: you shall do well,That on the touching of her lips I mayMelt and no more be seen. O, come, be buriedA second time within these arms.MARINA.My heartLeaps to be gone into my mother’s bosom.[Kneels to Thaisa.]PERICLES.Look, who kneels here! Flesh of thy flesh, Thaisa;Thy burden at the sea, and call’d MarinaFor she was yielded there.THAISA.Blest, and mine own!HELICANUS.Hail, madam, and my queen!THAISA.I know you not.PERICLES.You have heard me say, when I did fly from Tyre,I left behind an ancient substitute:Can you remember what I call’d the man?I have named him oft.THAISA.’Twas Helicanus then.PERICLES.Still confirmation:Embrace him, dear Thaisa; this is he.Now do I long to hear how you were found:How possibly preserved; and who to thank,Besides the gods, for this great miracle.THAISA.Lord Cerimon, my lord; this man,Through whom the gods have shown their power; that canFrom first to last resolve you.PERICLES.Reverend sir,The gods can have no mortal officerMore like a god than you. Will you deliverHow this dead queen relives?CERIMON.I will, my lord.Beseech you, first go with me to my house,Where shall be shown you all was found with her;How she came placed here in the temple;No needful thing omitted.PERICLES.Pure Dian, bless thee for thy vision! IWill offer night-oblations to thee. Thaisa,This prince, the fair betrothed of your daughter,Shall marry her at Pentapolis.And now this ornamentMakes me look dismal will I clip to form;And what this fourteen years no razor touch’dTo grace thy marriage-day, I’ll beautify.THAISA.Lord Cerimon hath letters of good credit, sir,My father’s dead.PERICLES.Heavens make a star of him! Yet there, my queen,We’ll celebrate their nuptials, and ourselvesWill in that kingdom spend our following days:Our son and daughter shall in Tyrus reign.Lord Cerimon, we do our longing stayTo hear the rest untold. Sir, lead’s the way.[Exeunt.]EnterGower.GOWER.In Antiochus and his daughter you have heardOf monstrous lust the due and just reward:In Pericles, his queen and daughter seen,Although assail’d with Fortune fierce and keen,Virtue preserved from fell destruction’s blast,Led on by heaven, and crown’d with joy at last.In Helicanus may you well descryA figure of truth, of faith, of loyalty:In reverend Cerimon there well appearsThe worth that learned charity aye wears:For wicked Cleon and his wife, when fameHad spread their cursed deed, the honour’d nameOf Pericles, to rage the city turn,That him and his they in his palace burn.The gods for murder seemed so contentTo punish, although not done, but meant.So on your patience evermore attending,New joy wait on you! Here our play has ending.[Exit.]
EnterGower.
GOWER.Marina thus the brothel ’scapes, and chancesInto an honest house, our story says.She sings like one immortal, and she dancesAs goddess-like to her admired lays;Deep clerks she dumbs; and with her nee’le composesNature’s own shape, of bud, bird, branch, or berry,That even her art sisters the natural roses;Her inkle, silk, twin with the rubied cherry:That pupils lacks she none of noble race,Who pour their bounty on her; and her gainShe gives the cursed bawd. Here we her place;And to her father turn our thoughts again,Where we left him, on the sea. We there him lost;Whence, driven before the winds, he is arrivedHere where his daughter dwells; and on this coastSuppose him now at anchor. The city strivedGod Neptune’s annual feast to keep: from whenceLysimachus our Tyrian ship espies,His banners sable, trimm’d with rich expense;And to him in his barge with fervour hies.In your supposing once more put your sightOf heavy Pericles; think this his bark:Where what is done in action, more, if might,Shall be discover’d; please you, sit and hark.
[Exit.]
Enter twoSailors,one belonging to the Tyrian vessel, the other to the barge; to themHelicanus.
TYRIAN SAILOR.[To the Sailor of Mytilene.]Where is lord Helicanus? He can resolve you.O, here he is.Sir, there’s a barge put off from Mytilene,And in it is Lysimachus the governor,Who craves to come aboard. What is your will?
HELICANUS.That he have his. Call up some gentlemen.
TYRIAN SAILOR.Ho, gentlemen! my lord calls.
Enter two or threeGentlemen.
FIRST GENTLEMAN.Doth your lordship call?
HELICANUS.Gentlemen, there is some of worth would come aboard;I pray ye, greet them fairly.
[TheGentlemenand the twoSailorsdescend and go on board the barge.]
Enter, from thence,LysimachusandLords;with theGentlemenand the twoSailors.
TYRIAN SAILOR.Sir,This is the man that can, in aught you would,Resolve you.
LYSIMACHUS.Hail, reverend sir! the gods preserve you!
HELICANUS.And you, sir, to outlive the age I am,And die as I would do.
LYSIMACHUS.You wish me well.Being on shore, honouring of Neptune’s triumphs,Seeing this goodly vessel ride before us,I made to it, to know of whence you are.
HELICANUS.First, what is your place?
LYSIMACHUS.I am the governor of this place you lie before.
HELICANUS.Sir, our vessel is of Tyre, in it the king;A man who for this three months hath not spokenTo anyone, nor taken sustenanceBut to prorogue his grief.
LYSIMACHUS.Upon what ground is his distemperature?
HELICANUS.’Twould be too tedious to repeat;But the main grief springs from the lossOf a beloved daughter and a wife.
LYSIMACHUS.May we not see him?
HELICANUS.You may;But bootless is your sight: he will not speakTo any.
LYSIMACHUS.Yet let me obtain my wish.
HELICANUS.Behold him.[Pericles discovered.]This was a goodly person.Till the disaster that, one mortal night,Drove him to this.
LYSIMACHUS.Sir king, all hail! The gods preserve you!Hail, royal sir!
HELICANUS.It is in vain; he will not speak to you.
FIRST LORD.Sir, we have a maid in Mytilene, I durst wager,Would win some words of him.
LYSIMACHUS.’Tis well bethought.She questionless with her sweet harmonyAnd other chosen attractions, would allure,And make a battery through his deafen’d parts,Which now are midway stopp’d:She is all happy as the fairest of all,And, with her fellow maids, is now uponThe leafy shelter that abuts againstThe island’s side.
[Whispers aLordwho goes off in the barge of Lysimachus.]
HELICANUS.Sure, all’s effectless; yet nothing we’ll omitThat bears recovery’s name. But, since your kindnessWe have stretch’d thus far, let us beseech youThat for our gold we may provision have,Wherein we are not destitute for want,But weary for the staleness.
LYSIMACHUS.O, sir, a courtesyWhich if we should deny, the most just godsFor every graff would send a caterpillar,And so inflict our province. Yet once moreLet me entreat to know at large the causeOf your king’s sorrow.
HELICANUS.Sit, sir, I will recount it to you:But, see, I am prevented.
Re-enter from the barge,LordwithMarinaand a young Lady.
LYSIMACHUS.O, here is the lady that I sent for. Welcome, fair one!Is’t not a goodly presence?
HELICANUS.She’s a gallant lady.
LYSIMACHUS.She’s such a one, that, were I well assuredCame of a gentle kind and noble stock,I’d wish no better choice, and think me rarely wed.Fair one, all goodness that consists in bountyExpect even here, where is a kingly patient:If that thy prosperous and artificial featCan draw him but to answer thee in aught,Thy sacred physic shall receive such payAs thy desires can wish.
MARINA.Sir, I will useMy utmost skill in his recovery, providedThat none but I and my companion maidBe suffer’d to come near him.
LYSIMACHUS.Come, let us leave her,And the gods make her prosperous!
[Marinasings.]
LYSIMACHUS.Mark’d he your music?
MARINA.No, nor look’d on us.
LYSIMACHUS.See, she will speak to him.
MARINA.Hail, sir! My lord, lend ear.
PERICLES.Hum, ha!
MARINA.I am a maid,My lord, that ne’er before invited eyes,But have been gazed on like a comet: she speaks,My lord, that, may be, hath endured a griefMight equal yours, if both were justly weigh’d.Though wayward Fortune did malign my state,My derivation was from ancestorsWho stood equivalent with mighty kings:But time hath rooted out my parentage,And to the world and awkward casualtiesBound me in servitude.[Aside.] I will desist;But there is something glows upon my cheek,And whispers in mine ear ‘Go not till he speak.’
PERICLES.My fortunes—parentage—good parentage—To equal mine!—was it not thus? what say you?
MARINA.I said, my lord, if you did know my parentage,You would not do me violence.
PERICLES.I do think so. Pray you, turn your eyes upon me.You are like something that—what country-woman?Here of these shores?
MARINA.No, nor of any shores:Yet I was mortally brought forth, and amNo other than I appear.
PERICLES.I am great with woe, and shall deliver weeping.My dearest wife was like this maid, and such a oneMy daughter might have been: my queen’s square brows;Her stature to an inch; as wand-like straight;As silver-voiced; her eyes as jewel-likeAnd cased as richly; in pace another Juno;Who starves the ears she feeds, and makes them hungry,The more she gives them speech. Where do you live?
MARINA.Where I am but a stranger: from the deckYou may discern the place.
PERICLES.Where were you bred?And how achieved you these endowments, whichYou make more rich to owe?
MARINA.If I should tell my history, it would seemLike lies disdain’d in the reporting.
PERICLES.Prithee, speak:Falseness cannot come from thee; for thou look’stModest as Justice, and thou seem’st a palaceFor the crown’d Truth to dwell in: I will believe thee,And make my senses credit thy relationTo points that seem impossible; for thou look’stLike one I loved indeed. What were thy friends?Didst thou not say, when I did push thee back—Which was when I perceived thee—that thou cam’stFrom good descending?
MARINA.So indeed I did.
PERICLES.Report thy parentage. I think thou said’stThou hadst been toss’d from wrong to injury,And that thou thought’st thy griefs might equal mine,If both were open’d.
MARINA.Some such thing,I said, and said no more but what my thoughtsDid warrant me was likely.
PERICLES.Tell thy story;If thine consider’d prove the thousand partOf my endurance, thou art a man, and IHave suffer’d like a girl: yet thou dost lookLike Patience gazing on kings’ graves, and smilingExtremity out of act. What were thy friends?How lost thou them? Thy name, my most kind virgin?Recount, I do beseech thee: come, sit by me.
MARINA.My name is Marina.
PERICLES.O, I am mock’d,And thou by some incensed god sent hitherTo make the world to laugh at me.
MARINA.Patience, good sir,Or here I’ll cease.
PERICLES.Nay, I’ll be patient.Thou little know’st how thou dost startle me,To call thyself Marina.
MARINA.The nameWas given me by one that had some power,My father, and a king.
PERICLES.How! a king’s daughter?And call’d Marina?
MARINA.You said you would believe me;But, not to be a troubler of your peace,I will end here.
PERICLES.But are you flesh and blood?Have you a working pulse? and are no fairy?Motion! Well; speak on. Where were you born?And wherefore call’d Marina?
MARINA.Call’d MarinaFor I was born at sea.
PERICLES.At sea! What mother?
MARINA.My mother was the daughter of a king;Who died the minute I was born,As my good nurse Lychorida hath oftDeliver’d weeping.
PERICLES.O, stop there a little! [Aside.] This is the rarest dream that e’er dull sleepDid mock sad fools withal: this cannot be:My daughter, buried. Well, where were you bred?I’ll hear you more, to the bottom of your story,And never interrupt you.
MARINA.You scorn: believe me, ’twere best I did give o’er.
PERICLES.I will believe you by the syllableOf what you shall deliver. Yet, give me leave:How came you in these parts? Where were you bred?
MARINA.The king my father did in Tarsus leave me;Till cruel Cleon, with his wicked wife,Did seek to murder me: and having woo’dA villain to attempt it, who having drawn to do’t,A crew of pirates came and rescued me;Brought me to Mytilene. But, good sir.Whither will you have me? Why do you weep? It may be,You think me an impostor: no, good faith;I am the daughter to King Pericles,If good King Pericles be.
PERICLES.Ho, Helicanus!
EnterHelicanusandLysimachus.
HELICANUS.Calls my lord?
PERICLES.Thou art a grave and noble counsellor,Most wise in general: tell me, if thou canst,What this maid is, or what is like to be,That thus hath made me weep.
HELICANUS.I know not,But here is the regent, sir, of MytileneSpeaks nobly of her.
LYSIMACHUS.She would never tellHer parentage; being demanded that,She would sit still and weep.
PERICLES.O Helicanus, strike me, honour’d sir;Give me a gash, put me to present pain;Lest this great sea of joys rushing upon meO’erbear the shores of my mortality,And drown me with their sweetness.[To Marina] O, come hither,Thou that beget’st him that did thee beget;Thou that wast born at sea, buried at Tarsus,And found at sea again! O Helicanus,Down on thy knees, thank the holy gods as loudAs thunder threatens us: this is Marina.What was thy mother’s name? tell me but that,For truth can never be confirm’d enough,Though doubts did ever sleep.
MARINA.First, sir, I pray, what is your title?
PERICLES.I am Pericles of Tyre: but tell me nowMy drown’d queen’s name, as in the rest you saidThou hast been godlike perfect,The heir of kingdoms and another lifeTo Pericles thy father.
MARINA.Is it no more to be your daughter thanTo say my mother’s name was Thaisa?Thaisa was my mother, who did endThe minute I began.
PERICLES.Now, blessing on thee! rise; thou art my child.Give me fresh garments. Mine own, Helicanus;She is not dead at Tarsus, as she should have been,By savage Cleon: she shall tell thee all;When thou shalt kneel, and justify in knowledgeShe is thy very princess. Who is this?
HELICANUS.Sir, ’tis the governor of Mytilene,Who, hearing of your melancholy state,Did come to see you.
PERICLES.I embrace you.Give me my robes. I am wild in my beholding.O heavens bless my girl! But, hark, what music?Tell Helicanus, my Marina, tell himO’er, point by point, for yet he seems to doubt,How sure you are my daughter. But, what music?
HELICANUS.My lord, I hear none.
PERICLES.None!The music of the spheres! List, my Marina.
LYSIMACHUS.It is not good to cross him; give him way.
PERICLES.Rarest sounds! Do ye not hear?
LYSIMACHUS.Music, my lord? I hear.
[Music.]
PERICLES.Most heavenly music!It nips me unto listening, and thick slumberHangs upon mine eyes: let me rest.
[Sleeps.]
LYSIMACHUS.A pillow for his head:So, leave him all. Well, my companion friends,If this but answer to my just belief,I’ll well remember you.
[Exeunt all butPericles.]
Dianaappears to Pericles as in a vision.
DIANA.My temple stands in Ephesus: hie thee thither,And do upon mine altar sacrifice.There, when my maiden priests are met together,Before the people all,Reveal how thou at sea didst lose thy wife:To mourn thy crosses, with thy daughter’s, callAnd give them repetition to the life.Or perform my bidding, or thou livest in woe:Do it, and happy; by my silver bow!Awake and tell thy dream.
[Disappears.]
PERICLES.Celestial Dian, goddess argentine,I will obey thee. Helicanus!
Re-enterHelicanus, LysimachusandMarina.
HELICANUS.Sir?
PERICLES.My purpose was for Tarsus, there to strikeThe inhospitable Cleon; but I amFor other service first: toward EphesusTurn our blown sails; eftsoons I’ll tell thee why.[To Lysimachus.] Shall we refresh us, sir, upon your shore,And give you gold for such provisionAs our intents will need?
LYSIMACHUS.Sir, with all my heart,And when you come ashore I have another suit.
PERICLES.You shall prevail, were it to woo my daughter;For it seems you have been noble towards her.
LYSIMACHUS.Sir, lend me your arm.
PERICLES.Come, my Marina.
[Exeunt.]
EnterGowerbefore the temple of Diana at Ephesus.
GOWER.Now our sands are almost run;More a little, and then dumb.This, my last boon, give me,For such kindness must relieve me,That you aptly will supposeWhat pageantry, what feats, what shows,What minstrelsy, and pretty din,The regent made in MytileneTo greet the king. So he thrived,That he is promised to be wivedTo fair Marina; but in no wiseTill he had done his sacrifice,As Dian bade: whereto being bound,The interim, pray you, all confound.In feather’d briefness sails are fill’d,And wishes fall out as they’re will’d.At Ephesus, the temple see,Our king and all his company.That he can hither come so soon,Is by your fancy’s thankful doom.
[Exit.]
EnterPericleswith his train;Lysimachus, Helicanus, Marinaand aLady.
PERICLES.Hail, Dian! to perform thy just command,I here confess myself the King of Tyre;Who, frighted from my country, did wedAt Pentapolis the fair Thaisa.At sea in childbed died she, but brought forthA maid child call’d Marina; whom, O goddess,Wears yet thy silver livery. She at TarsusWas nursed with Cleon; who at fourteen yearsHe sought to murder: but her better starsBrought her to Mytilene; ’gainst whose shoreRiding, her fortunes brought the maid aboard us,Where by her own most clear remembrance, sheMade known herself my daughter.
THAISA.Voice and favour!You are, you are—O royal Pericles!
[Faints.]
PERICLES.What means the nun? She dies! help, gentlemen!
CERIMON.Noble sir,If you have told Diana’s altar true,This is your wife.
PERICLES.Reverend appearer, no;I threw her overboard with these very arms.
CERIMON.Upon this coast, I warrant you.
PERICLES.’Tis most certain.
CERIMON.Look to the lady; O, she’s but o’er-joy’d.Early in blustering morn this lady wasThrown upon this shore. I oped the coffin,Found there rich jewels; recover’d her, and placed herHere in Diana’s temple.
PERICLES.May we see them?
CERIMON.Great sir, they shall be brought you to my house,Whither I invite you. Look, Thaisa isRecovered.
THAISA.O, let me look!If he be none of mine, my sanctityWill to my sense bend no licentious ear,But curb it, spite of seeing. O, my lord,Are you not Pericles? Like him you spake,Like him you are: did you not name a tempest,A birth, and death?
PERICLES.The voice of dead Thaisa!
THAISA.That Thaisa am I, supposed deadAnd drown’d.
PERICLES.Immortal Dian!
THAISA.Now I know you better,When we with tears parted Pentapolis,The king my father gave you such a ring.
[Shows a ring.]
PERICLES.This, this: no more, you gods! your present kindnessMakes my past miseries sports: you shall do well,That on the touching of her lips I mayMelt and no more be seen. O, come, be buriedA second time within these arms.
MARINA.My heartLeaps to be gone into my mother’s bosom.
[Kneels to Thaisa.]
PERICLES.Look, who kneels here! Flesh of thy flesh, Thaisa;Thy burden at the sea, and call’d MarinaFor she was yielded there.
THAISA.Blest, and mine own!
HELICANUS.Hail, madam, and my queen!
THAISA.I know you not.
PERICLES.You have heard me say, when I did fly from Tyre,I left behind an ancient substitute:Can you remember what I call’d the man?I have named him oft.
THAISA.’Twas Helicanus then.
PERICLES.Still confirmation:Embrace him, dear Thaisa; this is he.Now do I long to hear how you were found:How possibly preserved; and who to thank,Besides the gods, for this great miracle.
THAISA.Lord Cerimon, my lord; this man,Through whom the gods have shown their power; that canFrom first to last resolve you.
PERICLES.Reverend sir,The gods can have no mortal officerMore like a god than you. Will you deliverHow this dead queen relives?
CERIMON.I will, my lord.Beseech you, first go with me to my house,Where shall be shown you all was found with her;How she came placed here in the temple;No needful thing omitted.
PERICLES.Pure Dian, bless thee for thy vision! IWill offer night-oblations to thee. Thaisa,This prince, the fair betrothed of your daughter,Shall marry her at Pentapolis.And now this ornamentMakes me look dismal will I clip to form;And what this fourteen years no razor touch’dTo grace thy marriage-day, I’ll beautify.
THAISA.Lord Cerimon hath letters of good credit, sir,My father’s dead.
PERICLES.Heavens make a star of him! Yet there, my queen,We’ll celebrate their nuptials, and ourselvesWill in that kingdom spend our following days:Our son and daughter shall in Tyrus reign.Lord Cerimon, we do our longing stayTo hear the rest untold. Sir, lead’s the way.
[Exeunt.]
EnterGower.
GOWER.In Antiochus and his daughter you have heardOf monstrous lust the due and just reward:In Pericles, his queen and daughter seen,Although assail’d with Fortune fierce and keen,Virtue preserved from fell destruction’s blast,Led on by heaven, and crown’d with joy at last.In Helicanus may you well descryA figure of truth, of faith, of loyalty:In reverend Cerimon there well appearsThe worth that learned charity aye wears:For wicked Cleon and his wife, when fameHad spread their cursed deed, the honour’d nameOf Pericles, to rage the city turn,That him and his they in his palace burn.The gods for murder seemed so contentTo punish, although not done, but meant.So on your patience evermore attending,New joy wait on you! Here our play has ending.
[Exit.]